Tag Archives: Security

Recent encryption trends indicate that ~50% of organizations transfer sensitive or confidential data to the cloud, whether encrypted or not; growing to ~75% of organizations in the next year or so. The number of organizations with an enterprise wide encryption strategy has risen slowly to ~35%. Seemingly ~40% of data at rest in the cloud is unprotected! One must draw one’s own conclusions as to why cybersecurity attacks are increasing in number, with the inevitable consequence of business data exposure!

Historically the enterprise class business deployed the best available IT infrastructure for their available budget. Generally this generated a modus operandi of quantifying the cost of computing power (I.E. Cost per MIPS), where business chargeback scenarios were both scarce and simply measured. From a business viewpoint, arguably the best measure of business cost is transaction based, where these external facing transactions deliver business value, both in terms of financial and reputation attributes. With the current digital data explosion, driven by Mobile and Social interfaces, the number of business transactions increases significantly, year-on-year, while the security exposure for the associated business data has never been higher. What is the feasibility of deploying a single footprint computing platform that delivers industry leading security, capacity and performance, while fully interacting with Hybrid Cloud topologies for rapid and agile Application Development and delivery?

Recently IBM announced the z13s, their latest addition to the System z server family. Some 13 months following the release of the Enterprise Class z13, the z13s offers a granularity of capacity from 10 MSU (~100 MIPS) for the 2965-A01 IBM z13s Entry Model to 884 MSU for the 6 Engine 2965-z06 IBM z13s. From a System z MLC software TCO viewpoint, an annual cost of ~£150,000 (~$200,000) applies for a 10 MSU (~100 MIPS) system configured with z/OS, CICS, DB2, WebSphere (MQ), Programming Languages (I.E. COBOL, Java, et al) and a modicum of Systems Management software. Therefore over a 3 year period, the realm of possibility exists for a commercial business to leverage from today’s unrivalled RAS (Reliability, Availability and Security) attributes of the z13s server, for ~£500,000. Even this cost base could be further optimized with use of specialty engines (I.E. zIIP, IFL) and current MLC pricing regimes (I.E. zNALC, zCAP, et al).

IBM state the z13s is enabled and optimized for hybrid cloud environments and can help secure critical information and transactions better than before. Clearly the IT landscape is rapidly evolving, with an ever increasing requirement for secure and timely access to increasing amounts of digital data, primarily from mobile devices. This paradigm shift of data creation and access dictates that cybersecurity is a fundamental and mandatory requirement for each and every organization, where the System z server has always delivered the highest levels of security, currently certified at EAL5+ (Common Criteria Evaluation Assistance Level 5+).

Businesses need to be flexible, dynamic and agile, being mindful of TCO optimization. It was forever thus, Information Technology teams must embrace social and mobile trends and the challenges they create. This requires new insights and ways to integrate these trends into existing processes and IT infrastructures. Incorporating these new insights and opportunities into business processes and associated IT disciplines helps the business grow and be competitive, while reducing cost and increasing efficiencies. Leveraging from technologies such as the latest z13s server can assist organizations in reaching this enterprise class infrastructure, but a combination of IT infrastructure management best practice and leading-edge technology is required.

The z13s is designed for the toughest real-time business challenges. It provides significant scalability attributes in terms of memory, I/O and single footprint CPU power that responds instantaneously to business processing fluctuations. Therefore the z13s helps organizations meet mission critical Service Level Agreements (SLAs), with real-time delivery and analytical insight for ever increasing amounts of business data and information, delivering an advantage of more timely business decisions. The flagship IBM z/OS Operating System supports the z13s processor topology, optimized for scalability, cost saving, advanced compression capabilities, reliability, availability and scalability. Delivered with the unparalleled System z security attributes, the z13s provides best in class data protection for business users, customers and partners alike.

For those organizations that have never considered a System z Mainframe before, the z13s delivers an eminently affordable IT platform that delivers a compelling infrastructure for today’s hybrid cloud environments. From a dispassionate viewpoint, some cloud deployments (I.E. IaaS, PaaS) dictate the utilization of 3rd party server resources, which of course simplifies IT infrastructure management. However, it can also expose the business to scenarios beyond their control, whatever the uptime promise of the 3rd party supplier.

Arguably for the digital business with significant user bases (E.g. Millions to Billions), the highest levels of security and data protection is required, safeguarding all parties concerned from the clear and present danger associated with cybersecurity attacks. Therefore the use of hybrid cloud can benefit from agile and rapid Application Development processes, using open source and COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) code, as and when required, with a “fixed cost” System z platform cost. However scalable and flexible public cloud (E.g. Google Cloud Platform, Amazon AWS/EC2/VPC, IBM Bluemix, SoftLayer, et al) environments can be, they will always be a 3rd party service and only the business can decide their own TCO, balanced with the value of business data and users…

Since its inception, the IBM Mainframe has always delivered consistently low transaction response times, especially when a workload grows, sometimes peaking with an abnormally high requirement. The evolution of the z13 architecture safeguards this industry leading transaction response time is maintained, even when applying the highest levels of EAL5+ security. It was forever thus for the System z platform, where marketing statements are supported by the requisite performance benchmarks, in this case detailing the many scenarios for z13 Performance of Cryptographic Operations.

In conclusion, whether an existing IBM Mainframe user or not, the TCO and indeed TCA (Total Cost of Acquisition) attributes of the System z platform reduce year-on-year. Such a cost profile includes the System z platform of worthy consideration for each and every business, with a workload requirement of ~100 MIPS (~10 MSU) or more. Moreover, the notion of decommissioning an IBM Mainframe for the modernization of a legacy workload should be consigned to history forever more. Quite simply because the System z platform is open to all the rapid and agile Application Development and Deployment techniques available to Distributed Systems platforms.

For your business, which do you consider first, the cost of your computing platform, or the value of your business service? With an ever increasing cybersecurity risk, the System z platform delivers a compelling cost ownership model for even an entry level workload of ~100 MIPS, leveraging from the most secure, reliable and scalable single server footprint. We should evolve our cost ownership models from cost per computing power MIPS, to the cost of each and every business transaction. If we can reduce transaction cost, while increasing business value and safeguarding our priceless business data, perhaps that is a computing platform cost versus value balance metric we can take forward forever more…

Recently IBM launched their LinuxONE offering, packaged in the most powerful and secure enterprise server, namely System z, designed for the new application economy and hybrid cloud era. Although IBM has provided Linux support for the Mainframe server since 2000, this LinuxONE packaging promises a unified portfolio of hardware, software and services solutions for mission-critical Linux applications.

To supplement the existing SUSE and Red Hat support, Ubuntu is included, along with Open Source enablement, including Apache Spark, Chef, Docker, MariaDB, MongoDB, Node.js and PostgreSQL, endeavouring to provide clients with choice and flexibility for hybrid cloud deployments.

Linux Without Risk: Safeguard business applications with the secure and resilient System z Server

The LinuxONE Systems are classified as Emperor and Rockhopper, loosely classified as High-End and Entry-Level System z servers. LinuxONE Emperor delivers ultimate flexibility, scalability, performance and security trust for mission-critical applications. Scalability is as per the latest z13 server, allowing growth to handle the most demanding workloads. LinuxONE Rockhopper delivers the entry point into the LinuxONE family, offering all the same great capabilities and value, with the flexibility of a smaller package.

LinuxONE includes a choice of hypervisors and management tools, namely KVM for LinuxONE and/or IBM z/VM. This virtualization capability claims support for up to 8000 virtual servers (several thousand containers) in a single System z server footprint, allowing for parallel processing of Test, Development and Production environments. Additionally, new servers and containers can be initialized and running in minutes, with automated resource provisioning and reallocation in seconds.

The LinuxONE offering is also a key component of the IBM Cloud, Analytics, Mobile & Security (CAMS) framework:

Cloud: An agile and trusted cloud infrastructure to meet new business demands with greater efficiency and lower costs for IT service delivery. Example cloud usage includes Database, Enterprise Systems of Record and Hybrid Platform cloud platforms.

Analytics: Flexible, resilient, high performance business and operational analytics for Business Intelligence, Big Data Insights and Operational Analytics for intelligent and continuous business availability.

Mobile: Build a premier mobile solution for your business to deliver the best possible experience for your clients, employees and partners alike. Facilitate agile development and deployment of mobile applications, with secure end-to-end mobile transactions, personalized via integrated data analytics.

Security: System z has been associated with the highest EAL5+ Common Criteria certification for many years, safeguarding mission-critical data from cradle-to-grave. Security functions such as full data encryption, cryptographic processors and end-to-end security, combined with the unmatched reliability and availability of the System z server, safeguarding mission-critical data and services are fully protected and available.

A per core software pricing model, with 30 days notice for cancellation or resource change

A 36 month rental option, with buy/replace/return options at contract end

In theory, LinuxONE could be perceived as just a tweak of existing System z Linux options, including the most recent z13 server, Ubuntu and Open Source support. What has changed are user requirements, the requirement for flexible and agile computing, where Cloud, Analytics, Mobile and Security dominate many CIO agendas.

It is my hope that each and every CIO, System z literate or not, at least considers the LinuxONE platform for their mission-critical enterprise workload, as from a simplistic viewpoint, LinuxONE is just another ubiquitous black server box; or is it…

As per the usual next generation zSeries Server release, IBM announced their latest evolution on 13 January 2015, namely the z13. IBM describe this platform as the most powerful and secure system ever built:

First system able to process 2.5 billion transactions per day, built for mobile economy

Makes possible real-time encryption on all mobile transactions at scale

First mainframe system with embedded analytics providing real time transaction insights 17X faster than compared competitive systems at a fraction of the cost

At first glance, feeds and speeds generally don’t enthuse the audience, but if we dig deeper and acknowledge other recent IBM developments incorporating Apple, Twitter and Data Analytics announcements, we perhaps can draw some better business-facing conclusions. IBM have a clearly defined Cloud, Analytics, Mobile, Social & Security (CAMSS) initiative, seemingly based upon the IDC 3rd platform defined as Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud (SMAC).

Industry analysts predict that in the next 3 years and by 2017, SMAC (CAMSS) expenditure will account for 25%+ of total enterprise software market revenue, doubling from ~12% in 2012. In simple terms, this new expenditure opportunity represents $100+ Billion revenue. We can imagine that all major ISV’s will be wanting their share of this market…

Whichever classification you choose, IBM CAMSS or IDC SMAC, IT infrastructures and associated investment currently are and certainly will be heavily influenced by this new world computing paradigm. Like it or not, an ability to perform a transaction anywhere (Mobile), keeping everything simple and networked (Social Media), real time prediction of future customer requirements (Analytics), available anywhere (Mobile), for an alleged fraction of the cost (Cloud), makes sense for the 21st Century business. Ignore this new technology evolution at your peril as it will impact each and every area of the IT enterprise and associated resources, primarily software and supporting hardware.

Did you notice the difference between the IBM classification and IDC? IDC have not considered Security to be a consideration factor worthy of acronym (SMAC) inclusion. In today’s world of cybersecurity, that might be somewhat of an oversight, but we must assume that IDC consider cybersecurity to be a consideration for all of the Analytics, Cloud, Mobile & Social aspects, which of course it is!

If we consider the relative merits of technology platforms from a security viewpoint, the IBM z13 delivers EAL5+ security certification, whereas other non-Mainframe platforms can only currently claim EAL4+ certification.

It is estimated that 55%+ of enterprise (mission critical) transactions are processed by the IBM Mainframe, but this is based on pre mobile workloads. It therefore makes commercial sense for IBM to safeguard their flagship platform not only maintains the existing IBM Mainframe customer base, but captures new and mobile centric workloads.

Having considered the business requirements for today’s IT business, let’s now classify the new features of the z13 platform:

Up to 40% more total system capacity compared to the zEC12.

Up to 10 terabytes (TB) of available Redundant Array of Independent Memory (RAIM) real memory per server.

Cryptographic performance improvements with new Crypto Express5S.

Economies of scale with simultaneous multithreading delivering more throughput for Linux and zIIP-eligible workloads.

A reduction in elapsed time for I/O-bound batch jobs with new FICON Express16S versus FICON Express8S.

Support for larger memory configurations planned to be supported on z/OS systems, which can be used to improve transaction response times, lower CPU costs, simplify capacity planning and ease deploying memory-intensive workloads. (The IBM z13 offers up to 10 TB memory.)

I/O service time improvement when writing data remotely using the new zHPF Extended Distance II.

Support for up to 256 coupling CHPIDs, which provides enhanced connectivity and scalability for a growing number of coupling channel types.

As we all know, Moore’s Law had to end sometime soon and this is true for System z CPU chips. The zEC12 CPU was often claimed to be the fastest commercial processor, with a 32nm core and a 5.5 GHz rating. The z13 chip runs a 22 nm core at a 5 GHz, at first glance ~10% slower than the zEC12. The new z13 chip delivers a ~10% performance increase, due to advances in core design, with better branch prediction and pipelining in the core. Noteworthy, is the slightly slower clock speed of the z13 chip, reducing heat output, probably signifying that ~5 GHz is the ceiling for CPU chips in the near future.

However, for z13, the doubling of performance still apples for many other resources:

A major and subtle change introduced with the z13 is Simultaneous MultiThreading (SMT). SMT allows 2 active instruction streams per core, each dynamically sharing the core’s execution resources. SMT will be available in IBM z13 for workloads running on the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) and the IBM z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP).

Each software Operating System/Hypervisor has the ability to intelligently drive SMT in a way that is best for its unique requirements. z/OS SMT management consistently drives the cores to high thread density, in an effort to reduce SMT variability and deliver repeatable performance across varying CPU utilization, thus providing more predictable SMT capacity. z/VM SMT management optimizes throughput by spreading a workload over the available cores until it demands the additional SMT capacity.

From a capacity planning and performance measurement viewpoint, just a slight note of caution. Although the z13 CPU chip delivers increased CPU capacity, the raw speed is slower and there are considerations for SMT. A former IBM staffer, Bob Rogers has written a great article on this SMT subject matter, which should be on your reading list!

In conclusion, the z13 announcement is another step forward for zSeries Mainframes. If you consider this announcement as just another next generation zSeries Mainframe announcement, you’re not treating your business or yourself with the respect they deserve. Instead, please consider this z13 announcement as an evolution from an enterprise solution delivery viewpoint. Primarily, consider the 21st century business keywords, in no particular order, of Analytics, Cloud, Mobile, Social & Security.

It was the early 1980’s when IBM first announced the Personal Computer (PC), a major breakthrough for delivering affordable and practical computing into the home. One of the primary features of this computing evolution was the “open architecture” of the PC, built from off-the-shelf and commodity components. Of course, we all know that around this time, DOS became MS-DOS via Bill Gates and Microsoft, where the rest as they say, is history!

At this time the IBM Mainframe (1964) had nearly 2 decades longevity and was already proving a scalable, secure and reliable platform. So here we are, some 3 decades later, where Apple and IBM have announced a Global Partnership to Transform Enterprise Mobility.

Whatever your opinion of Apple technology, in the last decade or so they have undoubtedly delivered slick design and style for mobile devices, namely the smartphone and tablet. Therefore whether the Enterprise accept the premise or not, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is inevitable, where employees expect to use their personal devices in the workplace.

IBM have continued to be a dominant force in the Enterprise market, whether with Mainframe technology or not, while establishing a credible presence in the Cloud market space. As always the world of IT is constantly changing and even though IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo in 2004; some 10 years later, as part of the exclusive IBM MobileFirst for iOS agreement, IBM will sell iPhones and iPads with industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide.

So what role if any will the IBM zSeries platform play in this Apple deal? As always, the zSeries platform will deliver enterprise scalability and strength for Security, Database and Messaging integration, but beyond these features, I’m not so sure. Of course, from a data presentation viewpoint, nothing changes, iOS integration and the ability to present Mainframe originated data remains forever thus for Apple and indeed all other mobile devices. Similarly from a business transaction viewpoint, the zSeries platform participates in the delivery of mobile support, where from an IBM technology viewpoint, the Worklight solution is one example of an end-to-end integrated development studio software product.

Despite the obvious benefits for Apple, gaining access to the Enterprise via IBM technology and their customer base, and for IBM, delivering the market leading mobile technology into their customer base, what does this mean for the Enterprise?

Business as usual mostly, but Identity & Access Management (IAM) would appear to be a significant challenge. Firstly, rightly or wrongly, most people don’t consider Apple software to have any security exposures, as the market place for iOS security solutions (E.g. Anti-Virus, Malware, zero day exploits, et al) is limited? However, one might ponder why the Windows Operating System became such a target for the hacker. Said hacker might be an opportunist, just because they can, or something more sinister, trying to gain government or business secrets. So, if the Apple smartphone and tablet devices become ubiquitous if not de facto in the Enterprise, how long will it be before security exposures for iOS and related apps become common place?

I’m open-minded about BYOD (or am I)? My heart tells me, yes, let the workers use their own device in the workplace, but my head tells me, no way! Generally for technology decisions, my head always wins. In this instance, I don’t think my head has a chance; overwhelming company worker desire to use their own mobile device in the workplace, whether iOS, Android, Java ME, Windows Phone, Blackberry, et al, will win out. If this is the case, this is perhaps where the maturity and reliability of the IBM zSeries Mainframe can assist.

Therefore, at least for Identity & Access Management (IAM), secure access to the most valuable resource within an organization, the data itself via the zSeries server makes sense. Whether this is via two if not several factor authentication remains to be seen. However, I’m much more comfortable with an IAM solution that leverages from a Mainframe External Security Manager (ESM), namely ACF2, RACF or TopSecret, as opposed to a universal log-in via a Social Media web site, such as Facebook. Just because you can log into an Enterprise and arguably mission critical CRM application, such as Salesforce via Facebook Authentication, doesn’t necessarily mean you should…

With the introduction of MVS/ESA Version 4.3 in 1993, the IBM Mainframe included the major foundations for meaningful Distributed Systems connectivity, including the first steps of POSIX compliance via OpenEdition functionality. However, even before this timeframe, the TCP/IP protocol was available in the first release of MVS/ESA Version 4 (4.1), although in a very limited fashion. In this instance, MVS was benefitting from the path already trodden by the VM Operating System and the TCP for VM software product. Put another way, even when TCP/IP was in its early stages, being deployed and evolved in universities and scientific laboratories (E.g. CERN), its foundation was being embedded into the IBM Mainframe.

So, since the early-mid 1990’s, even before pervasive usage of the Internet, the Mainframe was already a fully functioning and efficient user of IP networking.

How is the TCP/IP function being utilized by the IBM Mainframe today?

TCP/IP on z/OS supports all of the well-known server and client applications. The TCP/IP started task is the engine that drives all IP-based activity on z/OS. Even though z/OS is an EBCDIC host, communication with ASCII-based IP applications is seamless.

IP applications running on z/OS use a resolver configuration file for environmental values. Locating a resolver configuration file is somewhat complicated by the dual operating system nature of z/OS (UNIX and MVS). Nearly each and every z/OS customer deploys the following core TCP/IP services:

TCP/IP Daemon: The single entity that handles, and is required for, all IP-based communications in a z/OS environment is the TCP/IP daemon itself. The TCP/IP daemon implements the IP protocol stack and runs a huge number of IP applications to the same specifications as any other operating system.

TCP/IP Profile: Is loaded by TCP/IP when started. If a change needs to be made to the TCP/IP configuration after it has been started, TCP/IP can be made to reload the profile dynamically (or read a new profile altogether).

FTP Server: Like some other IP applications, FTP is actually a z/OS UNIX System Services (USS) application. It can be started within an MVS environment, but it does not remain active in z/OS. It immediately forks itself into the z/OS UNIX environment and tells the parent task to kill itself.

Telnet Daemon: There are two telnet servers available in the z/OS operating environment. One is the TN3270 server, which supports line mode telnet, but it is seldom used for just that. Instead, it is primarily used to support the TN3270 Enhanced protocol. The other telnet server is a line mode server only, referred to as the z/OS UNIX Telnet server (otelnetd).

Whether UNIX System Services (USS) or TCP/IP usage, the convergence of the IBM Mainframe and UNIX technologies arguably became mandatory with the deployment of TCP/IP on the IBM Mainframe. Obviously the technical personnel that support these different platforms have their own viewpoint as to which platform might be the best, but that is somewhat of an arbitrary point. However, what is absolutely certain is recognition of how data is stored and secured in a UNIX environment and indeed the z/OS (MVS) specific environment, originally named MVS OpenEdition, but now commonly referred to as OMVS.

There are fundamental differences too numerous to mention when comparing the User and File management policies and processes, when comparing the security and data access lifecycle intricacies of z/OS and UNIX. So what you might say! This might be a cursory and lax attitude, as business critical data is probably being stored in OMVS file systems, if only for FTP purposes, but more than likely for other more pervasive and user based access (E.g. Database, Messaging, Data Mining, Data Exchange, et al).

So, which technical party is managing the security of Unix System Services (USS) file systems for the OMVS Mainframe deployment? Is it the Mainframe Systems Programmer, the Unix System Admin or the Mainframe Security Team, or somebody else? To date, some people might have thought it didn’t matter, but of course, seasoned security professionals knew that this was never the case. However, the migration to z/OS 2.1 is a tangible juncture for each and every IBM Mainframe installation to review their USS and thus OMVS security deployment. Why?

The BPX.DEFAULT.USER facility was introduced with OS/390 2.4 and was a commonly used process for implementing USS (OMVS) security. However, with z/OS 2.1, the BPX.DEFAULT.USER facility is withdrawn, meaning that the Mainframe user must perform some migration actions. IBM provide some generic assistance with this challenge via APAR OA42554 and APAR OA37164. However, maybe this is an ideal juncture to perform a thorough review of USS (OMVS) security, vis-à-vis a comprehensive and dispassionate audit, highlighting issues, implementing standards and securing exposures. For example, use of UID(0) must be eradicated and certainly no human being should be allocated such privileges.

There are some useful guidelines available from security specialists such as Vanguard, where the process can be simplified using their Identity & Access Management (IAM) toolset. Similarly, recent user conferences have included presentations on this subject matter.

In conclusion, the IBM Mainframe can be classified as just another node on the IP (TCP/IP) network. However, as always, no matter how secure the Mainframe platform might be, the biggest threat is typically the human being, and for USS, the migration to z/OS 2.1 forces us to review OMVS security settings. Therefore, let’s do a good job and eradicate any security exposures we might have inadvertently implemented over the years. As we all know, passing an external security audit process doesn’t necessarily mean our IT systems and processes are secure, while sometimes the internal security people are better qualified or more knowledgeable than external auditors. Arguably most external auditors will do a good job of auditing UNIX platforms, yet their Mainframe knowledge and abilities are typically limited. It is therefore somewhat of a paradox that in this particular area of z/OS USS, the typical UNIX exposures are not highlighted in the typical Mainframe security audit process…

One must draw one’s own conclusions as to the merits of engaging 3rd Mainframe security specialists to perform such an audit, coinciding with this z/OS 2.1 migration activity, safeguarding that OMVS security and processes are as good and secure as they can be. Put another way, why wouldn’t a Mainframe organization go that extra mile to safeguard their most valuable of assets, namely business critical data, engaging a 3rd party specialist to review and provide guidance on this subject matter.

Obviously the more authentication techniques used in combination, the stronger the authentication process becomes!

Primarily due to cost and complexity, passwords remain the most pervasive form of user authentication. This simple fact in itself exposes the human being as the primary vulnerability in safeguarding access to business systems.

However, passwords are simply just words, phrases or a string of characters that can be easily remembered by the user. As such, passwords can be compromised in numerous scenarios, for example:

Hardcopy – The written word; users write them down and/or share them with others.

Cracking – Passwords can be guessed; typically a simple program designed to try many possibilities in rapid succession. Simple passwords might be guessed by another human being.

Unsecure Transmission – Passwords no matter how complex are transmitted over an unsecure network in a simplistic (E.g. text) form, or with basic encoding, which can be easily converted to text.

Inappropriate Storage – Passwords are stored on a server, fixed or removable media storage, in a simplistic (E.g. text) form, or with basic encoding, which can be easily converted to text.

These potential vulnerabilities generate possibilities for somebody to obtain a password and subsequently access a business system as the user associated with their password. The potential consequences are obvious, depending on the importance of the user…

However, if password systems are implemented to deny malicious attacks, inspection or decryption of passwords being transmitted over the network, or at rest on fixed or removable storage media; passwords can be very secure. Therefore a combination of technology and good practice is required, safeguarding compliant and latest technology systems are deployed, educating users not to be the point of vulnerability, by allowing others to easily access their password.

There might be some urban myths as to whether the IBM Mainframe is a good platform for enterprise wide password management, for example:

Both of these scenarios are examples of whether “reverse engineering” thinking is good practice. So let’s pose as a potential hacker and see if we can obtain a user and associated password. These scenarios highlight the combined requirement of deploying a secure environment and safeguarding that user’s don’t and indeed are not allowed to create simplistic (low strength) passwords.

Ultimately password strength is governed by password length and associated combination of characters, including alphanumeric, upper/lower case, special characters, et al. There are also some other urban myths regarding the IBM Mainframe, regarding the maximum length of password (E.g. 8 Characters) and the type of character supported (E.g. only alphanumeric uppercase). For many years, RACF has supported the password phrase extension to the password rules, increasing password length to 100 characters:

Maximum length: 100 characters

Minimum length: 9 characters, when ICHPWX11 is present and allows the new value or 14 characters, when ICHPWX11 is not present

The user ID (as sequential upper case characters or sequential lower case characters) is not part of the password phrase

The use of high strength passwords is required because although human beings might give up after trying tens or maybe hundreds of password guesses, automated programs can achieve millions of password access attempts in a second, for example:

There will always be a debate as to whether Single Sign On (SSO) or password synchronization is the best solution for maintaining password integrity and both solutions have their merits. Once again, a multiple authentication factor solution increases the security strength of either solution.

Passwords are most vulnerable when they’re forgotten and intervention is required to reinstate the password. Traditionally password resets were performed by an IT Support resource (human being) and this human interaction process generates what are termed “social engineering” challenges. Let’s explore a typical scenario, while considering any exposure and circumvention techniques:

Password Reset: IT Support Process

User has forgotten or mistyped their password (log-in denial/intruder alert)

User contacts IT support function (might encounter a no response or queue waiting scenario)

IT support asks user for credentials (E.g. name, department, et al)

IT Support authenticates this information with some on-line resource/authenticates user

IT support resets password or not, depending on whether user is “manually” authenticated

User might be prompted to immediately change their password on first successful log-in attempt

The security weaknesses associated with this process are numerous and prone to human error, for example:

Obvious Security Weaknesses: Business Exposure

IT Support forgets to authenticate the user

On-line resources for authenticating the user are not available

User credentials are widely available and so “social engineering” exposes the system

Password reset authority is granted to many non-IT personnel, for work productivity reasons

Password reset activity is not tracked and so is not auditable, accountable or traceable

IT support now knows the user password

Having identified the potential simplistic vulnerabilities, we implement processes to eradicate them, for example:

Implementing Controls

IT support training to safeguard user authentication occurs for each and every password reset request

Safeguard sufficient and secure user authentication information is available to IT support personnel

Implement a self-service solution (E.g. software) that allows the user to change their passwords, based on previously supplied “security challenge” questions and answers

Where user authentication depends on a password, eliminating “human” intervention touch points wherever possible is mandatory, minimizing the opportunity for “social engineering” techniques to compromise security. We have also identified that the IBM Mainframe does offer a secure environment for retaining passwords with ultra-high-strength security and that as always, the IBM Mainframe remains difficult to hack…

There are many software products to assist password reset scenarios, some that are platform specific and some that don’t support the IBM Mainframe. For those customers with an IBM Mainframe, Vanguard PasswordReset is an enterprise wide self-help password reset solution.

Vanguard PasswordReset addresses the common problem of forgotten or expired passwords, allowing authorized users to quickly and securely change their passwords at any time without help desk intervention.

Easy to install and use Vanguard PasswordReset does not require any software on user workstations or any additional hardware, with a rigorous set of checks and balances to ensure that only authorized users can initiate password reset requests.

Users register with the Vanguard PasswordReset website by typing a series of questions and answers or answering a set of predefine questions. When users want to change their passwords, they log on to the Vanguard PasswordReset website, type the answers to the questions and reset their passwords. For increased security, Vanguard PasswordReset allows system administrators to set the number of questions that must be answered and other characteristics of the answers.

A self-service password solution such as delivers Vanguard PasswordReset the following benefits:

Eliminates lost productivity when users are unable to access computer applications.

Provides improved help-desk productivity by allowing support staff to concentrate on solving other issues rather than time-consuming password resets.

With the advent of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) there is seemingly no end to the number of books, especially “children’s” books that can be encapsulated and delivered in animated movie format. I’m always surprised and arguably never surprised by the messaging in these stories; supposedly written for the younger person, but invariably delivering a message of good morals, ethics and human qualities, typically finding creative solutions to a myriad of problems. Of course, we’re all human, and typically as human beings, we’re responsible for the majority of our problems, either knowingly, or not.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a book based on a town named Chewandswallow characterized by its strange daily meteorological pattern, providing townsfolk with all of their required daily meals by raining food. Although the residents of the town enjoy a lifestyle devoid of any grocery shopping or cookery, the weather unexpectedly and inexplicably takes a turn for the worse, devastating the local community with destructive and uncontrollable storms of either unpleasant or dangerously oversized foods, resulting in unstoppable catastrophes for the townspeople. Their lives endangered by the threats of the storms, they relocate to a different community of average meteorological patterns, safe from the hazards that once were presented by raining meals. However, they are forced to learn how to obtain food the normal way.

So what? Continuing with the creativity thought, the ethos of this story might be somewhat analogous to the sometimes polarized opinion between Distributed Systems and Mainframe computing. So depending on your philosophical bent or which side-of-the-fence you sit, there is only one choice, even if this seemingly perfect and de facto world is generating significant challenges…

Recently, z/OS 2.1 became Generally Available (GA) and most notably from my viewpoint was its continued and demonstrable ability to participate in cloud computing environments. So is the IBM Mainframe ready for the cloud? Wasn’t it always!

The fundamental ethos of the Mainframe environment is virtualization and was forever thus. The Mainframe has always shared the basic IT architecture components, including CPU, Memory, Storage, Networking and other peripherals, originally in a physical single-image structure, but since the late 1990’s in a shared (SYSPLEX) complex of interconnected physical servers (CPCs). So the Mainframe is and always has been ready for “Prime Time Cloud”!

z/OS V2.1 is a platform designed to dynamically respond and scale to workload change with enhancements to scalability and performance that cover operations, I/O, virtual storage constraint relief, memory management, and more. These enhancements are suitable for organizations that would like to catalyse a journey to highly scalable virtualized solutions like cloud.

IBM delivers improved scalability and performance for outstanding throughput and service within existing Mainframe environments. Smarter scalability can better prepare the user for growth and spikes in workloads while maintaining the qualities of service and balanced design that customers have come to expect of the IBM mainframe.

As customers consider all the components of downtime, the true costs can be surprising, which is why superior availability continues to remain a key factor in platform selection. With z/OS V2.1, IBM introduces new capabilities designed to improve upon the already legendary z/OS system availability. The industry-leading resiliency and high availability of System z remain key reasons why organizations keep their most critical processing on System z. With its attention to outage reduction, the availability of System z and z/OS is well recognized in the industry. In z/OS V2.1, IBM continues enhancements that improve critical IT systems availability, helping achieve an even higher level of service for customers.

Some of the “cloud friendly” z/OS 2.1 benefits include:

Support for Shared Memory Communications-RDMA (SMC-R), for low latency, application transparent communications to help you move data quickly between z/OS images on the same CPC or between CPCs.

Flash Express support for certain coupling facility list structures, such as IBM WebSphere MQ for z/OS, V7 (5655-R36), in order to strengthen resiliency for enterprise messaging workload spikes.

For zEC12 or zBC12 systems, shared engine coupling facilities can be used in many production environments, for improved economics by offering a high level of performance without requiring the use of dedicated CF engines.

EXCP support for System z High-Performance FICON (zHPF) is designed to help improve I/O start rates and improve bandwidth for more workloads on existing hardware and fabric.

Serial Coupling Facility structure rebuild processing, designed to help improve performance and availability by rebuilding coupling facility structures more quickly and in priority order.

100-way symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) support in a single LPAR on IBM zEC12 or zBC12 systems. Support for an architectural limit of 4 TB of real memory per LPAR.

Support for 2 GB pages is provided on zEC12 and zBC12 systems. This feature is designed to reduce memory management overhead and improve overall system performance by enabling middleware to use 2 GB pages. These improvements are expected due to improved effective translation lookaside buffer (TLB) coverage and a reduction in the number of steps the system must perform to translate a 2 GB page virtual address.

Capacity Provisioning is designed to provide support for manual and policy-based management of Defined Capacity and Group Capacity. This function broadens the range of automatic, policy-based responses available to help manage capacity shortage conditions when WLM cannot meet your workload policy goals.

So let’s not forget, this foundation and support for an IT infrastructure and its supporting eco (software) system is in one scalable, secure and “zero” downtime environment!

So maybe for us open-minded and enlightened generation of parents (oops, I forgot, Grandparents for us Dinosaur Mainframe folk!) that can now “access” children’s stories, even if it’s in the form of a CGI animated movie, maybe we can be dispassionate enough to consider all platforms, Distributed and Mainframe for our evolving business and associated IT requirements.

So you decide, can it be Cloudy With A Chance Of Mainframe? To overlook such an option, might be an oversight, just as overlooking the abundance of human stories, classified as children’s books or not…

Data loss incidents expose businesses and their partners, customers and employees to a plethora of risks and associated problems. Typically, opportunistic, unauthorized or rogue access to sensitive, personal, confidential and Mission Critical data all too often results in identity theft, competitive business challenges, naming but a few, which adversely impact many areas, including but not limited to:

Business reputation and perception

Monetary via noncompliance penalties and associated litigation

Media coverage

Personal consumer credit ratings

Unless businesses implement proactive processes to secure data from creation to destruction, vis-à-vis cradle to grave, data loss challenges might ensue. In fact, millions of individuals are impacted by data loss every year, as criminals increase their sophistication for gaining unauthorized information access. The increasing dependence on technology and the potential associated collateral damage risk will continue to grow exponentially. Thus today there is no such thing as the low-risk organization or low-risk personal information and so it follows that business trustworthiness and data security should be a primary concern.

The full and complete destruction and thus secure erasure of data is a mandatory requirement of both Business and Government regulations, in addition to those policies deployed by each and every business. Regulatory compliance examples include the EU Data Protection Directive, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, supplemented by many other compliance mandates, encompassing The UK, Europe, The USA and indeed globally. There are many occasions when data destruction is required, for example:

When disks move to another location for reuse or interim storage

When a lease agreement matures and disks are returned to the vendor or sold onto the 2nd user market

Following a Disaster Recovery (DR) test, where 3rd party disk and tape devices are used for testing purposes

The reuse of disk or tape by a different company group

Before discarding and thus scrapping disks and tapes that are to leave the Data Centre

Clear; One method to sanitize media is to use software or hardware products to overwrite storage space on the media with non-sensitive data. This process may include overwriting not only the logical storage location of a file(s) (e.g., file allocation table) but also may include all addressable locations. The security goal of the overwriting process is to replace written data with random data. Overwriting cannot be used for media that are damaged or not rewriteable. The media type and size may also influence whether overwriting is a suitable sanitization method [SP 800-36: Media Sanitizing].

These data erasure (destruction, cleaning, clearing, wiping) methods would be a pre-cursor to supplementary actions such as purging, destroying and disposal of storage media and devices.

Clearly the IBM Mainframe environment is no different to any other, the requirement to safeguard data is always secure is of paramount importance, while being a mandatory requirement. Each and every Mainframe data centre will from time-to-time complete some or all of the following activities:

The major consideration to safeguard data security in these instances is when the data and or related storage media is moved off-site, outside of the primary Data Centre infrastructure. So maybe we should ask ourselves, why is it when we send data electronically, we safeguard the data with encryption, but when the data or related storage media is physically moved outside of the Data Centre, we don’t necessarily apply the same high levels of data security?

There are z/OS guidelines provided for erasing disk data, primarily relating to use of the ICKDSF TRKFMT function with the ERASEDATA and CYCLES parameters. It is generally accepted that this process is slow and does not erase data to the exacting standard required by regulatory compliance requirements. Similarly, DFSMSrmm users can use the EDGINERS ERASE function to erase data and even shred encryption keys for cartridge volumes created by high-function cartridge subsystem drives (I.E. TS1120, TS1130), but once again, this process might be considered slow and limited to those users deploying the DFSMSrmm subsystem, when other Tape Management Subsystems are widely deployed (E.g. AutoMedia/ZARA, CA-1, CA-Dynam/TLMS, CONTROL-T, et al).

There are other options available from the ISV market that have been specifically developed to erase data securely, including FDRERASE or SAEerase for disk data and FATS/FATAR for tape data, but wouldn’t it be useful if there was one software product that could erase both disk and tape data for IBM Mainframe environments?

Unlike other competitive solutions that are specialized for one particular storage media, either disk or tape, XTINCT performs a secure data erase for both disk and tape data. XTINCT meets all the requirements of US Department of Defense 5220.22-M (Clearing and Sanitization Matrix for Clearing Magnetic Disk) by overwriting all addressable locations with a single character. XTINCT also meets the sanitization requirement by overwriting all addressable locations with a character, its complement, then a random character, followed by final verification. XTINCT meets the requirements of most users by overwriting the tape and use of the hi-speed data security erase patterns. It should be noted, for tapes, the DoD only considers degaussing or pulverizing the tape to be a valid erase!

In addition to providing a complete audit trail and comprehensive reports to satisfy regulators, XTINCT surpasses NIST guidelines for cleaning and purging data. XTINCT also satisfies all federal and international requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, HSPD-12, Basel II, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and other data security and privacy laws.

From a resource efficiency viewpoint, XTINCT is re-entrant and fully supports sub-tasking. Multiple volumes can be processed asynchronously, whereas other tools, like ICKDSF, run serially. XTINCT makes extensive use of channel programs, so many functions operate at peak efficiency by only using enough CPU time to generate the channel programs, with the rest of the operation being carried out by the channel subsystem. This dictates that XTINCT does not overly utilize valuable CPU time.

The method chosen to safeguard that Mainframe disk and tape data is securely erased, destroyed, cleaned, purged, and so on, is somewhat arbitrary, whereas the deployment of the actual process is required, primarily from a business viewpoint, protecting their valuable consumer data in all circumstances, regardless of the mandatory regulatory security requirements. Ultimately the Mainframe Data Centre just needs to make a minor enhancement to the data management lifecycle model, to guarantee data security in all circumstances, in this instance, when physical data media (I.E. disk, tapes) moves outside of the primary Data Centre location.

In the late 1980’s I was lucky enough to work at a Mainframe site that was performing early testing for MVS/ESA and DFP Version 3, namely DFSMS. So what you say! The main ethos of DFSMS was in fact System Managed Storage and the ability to define policies to manage data, and the system (DFSMS) would implement these policies. Up until this point, there was no easy way of controlling data set allocation and managing storage space.

Conversely, the three mainstream Mainframe security subsystems, in no particular and so alphabetical order, ACF2, RACF (Security Server) and Top Secret have always had the ability to define a security policy and for said policy to be processed as and when the associated resource was accessed. So why is it that so many security risk registers are full of “things to do” from a security viewpoint? Where did it all go wrong?

In the late 1980’s, Guide and SHARE, in Europe anyway, were separate entities, and these organizations had some influence with IBM regarding direction for various IBM Mainframe technologies. Not much has changed as of today, but the organizations have merged and for Europe, now we have GSE. From a DFSMS viewpoint, there was a significant amount of user input regarding how DFSMS might be shaped, and the “System Managed Storage” ethos. I wonder whether such user input, or indeed focussed collaboration from Mainframe security gurus might help with the RACF or Mainframe security technical policy challenge?

Having worked with multiple IT security focussed organizations (E.g. NIST, DoD) over the last few decades, Vanguard Integrity Professionals has been actively involved in creating and evolving NIST DISA STIG Checklists. These checklists (currently 300+ checks and growing steadily) provide a comprehensive grounding for z/OS RACF policy checking, and seemingly are gaining momentum in being accepted as a good starting point to assist organizations define and monitor their z/OS RACF (ACF2 & Top Secret in the near future) policy.

These DISA STIG checklists contain step-by-step instructions for customer usage to ensure secure, efficient, and cost-effective information security that is fully-compliant with recognized security and therefore Mainframe security standards. Being fully compliant with DoD DISA STIG for IBM z/OS Mainframes, these checklists provide organizations with the necessary procedures for conducting a Security Readiness Review (SRR) prior to, or as part of, a formal security audit.

To increase automation and thus reduce cost, Vanguard has optimized the DISA STIG checking process with their Configuration Manager solution. Configuration Manager can perform Intrusion Detection DISA STIG checks and report findings in just a few hours instead of the hundreds or thousands of hours it may take using standard methods. Potentially, Configuration Manager enables organizations to easily evolve from continuous monitoring to periodic compliance reporting.

Maintaining tight control over the security audit and compliance process is a critical imperative for today’s enterprises. To comply, enterprises must show that they have implemented procedures to prevent unauthorized users from accessing corporate and personal data. Even if enterprises have the means to efficiently conduct audits, they often lack the tools necessary to prevent policy and compliance violations from reoccurring. As a result, security vulnerabilities remain a constant threat, exposing companies to potential sanctions and erode the confidence of investors and customers.

As a result, the process of meeting compliance standards such as those found in the Combined Code issued by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Turnbull Guidance (the Sarbanes-Oxley equivalent for publicly traded companies in the UK), the Data Protection Act 1998 (and, for the public sector, the Freedom of Information Act 2000), the regulations promulgated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) (the FSA has oversight over the various entities that make up the financial services industry), standards set by Basel II, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations of 2003, the HMG (UK Government) Security Policy Framework, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and various UK criminal and civil laws, represents one of IT’s most critical investments.

As a consequence, managing security in the Mainframe environment is becoming an increasingly difficult task as the list of challenges grows longer every day. Even the most experienced Security Administrators can labour under the workload as security systems increase in size and networks grow in density.

So where does the Mainframe Security Administrator start to make sense of how to achieve security compliance for their particular business?

Although there are many security and compliance regulatory requirements with supporting policy frameworks, none of these high-level mandates actually drill-down to the technical level and thus provide RACF or equivalent Mainframe (ACF2, Top Secret) policy guidelines!

There are synergies between various global organizations that define security standards. This is certainly true for NIST and ISO/IEC. Page viii of the NIST SP-800-53 policy states:

NIST is also working with public and private sector entities to establish specific mappings and relationships between the security standards and guidelines developed by NIST and the International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 27001, Information Security Management System (ISMS).

Furthermore, the seemingly ubiquitous Annex A of ISO 27001 is also cross-referenced by this NIST SP-800-53 policy, and the various controls and monitoring points are cross-referenced, where largely, the requirements of the NIST standard are mapped in the ISO/SEC standard, and vice versa. Please refer to Appendix H of the NIST SP-800-53 policy, which cross-references NIST SP-800-53 with ISO/IEC 27001 (Annex A) controls.

Put simply, one must draw one’s own conclusions as to the robustness of NIST SP-800-53 vs. ISO/IEC 27001, but both security standards seem to have commonality as robust and acceptable security standards. So maybe Mainframe users all over the world can define and deploy a generic and robust baseline Mainframe technical security policy, vis-à-vis, the NIST DISA STIG checklists…

We must also recognize the IBM Health Checker for z/OS, which also has the ability to perform automated RACF policy checks. This facility includes some ready-to-go checks for standard system services, in conjunction with a facility that allows the user to define their own policy checking rules. Without doubt, the IBM Health Checker for z/OS is a worthy resource that should be leveraged from, but for RACF, if each Mainframe user defines their own policy checking rules, maybe there is the possibility for a significant duplication of effort. For the avoidance of doubt, although RACF resource naming standards might be unique to each and every Mainframe user, there is a commonality of ISV (E.g. ASG, BMC, CA, Compuware, IBM, SAS, et al) software subsystems and products they deploy. If only we could all benefit from previous lessons learned by “standing on the shoulders of giants”!

Perhaps the realm of opportunity exists. There are many prominent Mainframe security giants actively involved today, including the authors of ACF2, Vanguard Software, Consul (Tivoli zSecure), naming but a few. Is it possible that there could be one common standard that might be used as a technical policy template, based upon the ubiquitous 80/20 rule? So deploying this baseline would deliver 80% of the work required for 20% of the effort, where the unique Mainframe customer just customizes this policy as per the resource naming standards in their Mainframe Data Centre? Equally the user has the ability to contribute to this template, perhaps using a niche software product not commonly used that requires security policy checks, where said software product is deployed in maybe tens of Mainframe customers globally.

Vanguard clearly has put a lot of effort into evolving the DISA STIG resource for Mainframe, IBM also has their RACF Health Checker, but what about one overseeing independent organization, which could benefit from the experience of Mainframe security specialists, and moreover, real-life field experience from Mainframe users globally, implementing and refining these standards. Wasn’t that the essence and spirit of Guide and SHARE several decades ago, listening to Mainframe users and evolving Mainframe technology accordingly? Of course SHARE in The USA and Guide Share in Europe, IUGC and APUGC in the APAC region still perform this function admirably, but seemingly with the NIST DISA STIG resource, we already have a great baseline to leverage from.

What is the size and shape of this potential task, ideally to identify each z/OS software product that has specific interaction with the security subsystem (I.E. ACF2, RACF, Top Secret), typically via resource profiles? For a software z/OS product to be developed, the ISV will have interacted with IBM, initially via their PartnerWorld resource for product development, and eventually via the IBM Global Solutions Directory from a Marketing viewpoint. As of Q4 2012, the IBM Global Solutions Directory contains ~1,800 ISV’s with z/OS based software products.

However, recognizing there are already good security resource checklist templates in existence, vis-à-vis the solid foundation primarily provided by Vanguard via the DISA STIG checklists, the best organization to add to these DISA STIG checklists are the ISV’s themselves. The ISV has most knowledge about their product, having written the code and supporting documentation for security related control; so a modicum of effort from the ISV that has product specific security resource checking seems the best way forward.

In 2003 IBM launched a Mainframe Charter initiative, demonstrating their commitment to the Mainframe platform, where they adopted nine principles organized under the pillars of innovation, value, and community. Although this was an IBM initiative, wouldn’t it be great for the Mainframe ISV to proactively be part of this global Mainframe community, and assist their Mainframe customers simplify the activity of implementing and monitoring their Mainframe security technical policy? Not every ISV will have software products with specific security resource interaction, and therefore not every product in the ISV software portfolio will require a security checklist. The amount of work per software product to create a template might only be several hours, and so could the ISV produce these checklists as part of their day-to-day customer support activities?

Is it possible that globally, we can all participate and collaborate in a focussed and Mainframe security centric group, to define a technical policy template that will assist all Mainframe customers satisfy regulatory compliance mandates? No one of us is as good as all of us…